As Christmas approaches, I’m excited about the joy and festivity involved in the season. I love the holiday cheer and time with family, but I also feel the pull toward busyness. Christmas is coming; I must do all the things! Where does this urge to make Christmas big, lavish, and packed-to-the-gills with merriment come from? Yes, I want to make it a fun time for my family, but why do I believe more equals better? Why do I do all the things I do at Christmastime:
I decorate the downstairs from floor to ceiling, hunt high and low for the perfect gifts for family and friends, bake all twenty kinds of Christmas cookies in our cookbook with my kids, make time to drive around and look at lights, decorate three Christmas trees, host an annual ornament exchange, send Christmas cards, have a new Christmas craft ready for the kids each day in December, find multiple ways to serve or be generous, and—lest I forget why we’re doing all this in the first place—make sure I emphasize Advent and Jesus’s birth as the reason for the season with my children. That list doesn’t include my husband’s work Christmas party, the kids’ school Christmas performances, and any other activities we may be invited to by friends and family.
It’s overwhelming just thinking about it. But who says I must do all these things? Is it possible for the season to be equally—and possibly more—enjoyable if I do less? Probably, but how do I decide what to remove and what stays? I love my family spending time together and enjoying the novelties of the season. However, I don’t think Jesus wants me to become more frazzled, more worn-out, and less joyful as I get closer to celebrating his appearance on earth.
Join me over at The Glorious Table to read the rest of this post!
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